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5 major banks plan $350 million low-interest loan for Samsung chip plant
Samsung Electronics' Pyeongtaek Campus, the company's largest chip plant located in Gyeonggi Province / Courtesy of Samsung Electronics
By Jun Ji-hye
The country’s five major banks — KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NH NongHyup — are considering a plan to extend a combined low-interest loan of 500 billion won ($350 million) to Samsung Electronics to support construction of its new semiconductor plant in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, industry insiders said Thursday.
Under the proposal, each bank will provide 100 billion won. The Korea Development Bank (KDB), which manages the National Growth Fund, recently presented the financing plan to the world’s largest memory chip maker.
Launched in December, the National Growth Fund aims to attract 150 trillion won in government and private investment over the next five years to foster strategic high-tech industries, including artifical intelligence (AI), semiconductors and renewable energy.
The fund was one of President Lee Jae Myung’s campaign pledges. The five major financial holding companies have already committed a combined 50 trillion won to the fund, contributing 10 trillion won each.
The banks’ proposed funding would supplement a separate 2 trillion won low-cost loan to be provided through this fund.
KDB is expected to supply around 2 trillion won, while the five commercial banks would arrange a senior syndicated loan, contributing 100 billion won each. This would bring total financing for the chipmaker to about 2.5 trillion won.
“We have received the proposal from KDB and are reviewing participation,” an official at one of the major banks said.
According to industry insiders, Samsung and KDB are currently in discussions over detailed lending terms, including interest rates. While the fund’s lending rate is expected to be slightly above 3 percent annually, the syndicated loan rate is likely to be marginally higher.
Samsung plans to invest 60 trillion won in its new P5 plant in Pyeongtaek, which is expected to serve as a core production base for AI-oriented semiconductors and high-bandwidth memory. The facility, part of the second phase of the Pyeongtaek complex, is slated to begin mass production in 2028.